Snail sexes

[Minderella83]

Is there a way to tell the difference between a male and female snail or are they both sexes? What are the best snail to have?

[RainMan]

Interestingly enough snails are hermaphrodites... however they do require another snail to fertalize their eggs. They can't self-reproduce.

[Minderella83]

So all I have to do is have to snails and they should reproduce. I have a gold mystery and a blue mystery in the same tank, will that work? Or will another species work better? I also saw a small pond snail yesterday but havent seen them today, so I dont know if my fish ate it or it is hiding because it was very little.

[RainMan]

LOL... I didn't even know they came in different colors. I think they are the same species of snail, just variants... so should be okay.

This might help, I found some quick info: How to breed mystery snails (Ampullaria) (http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Snails,%20Mystery.htm)

Pond snails are generally considered pests by a lot of aquarist because they reproduce so fast... If that's your goal, then those are good. ;)

[Minderella83]

Thanks for your info RainMan.

[RainMan]

No Problem... :)

[Wild Turkey]

Actually. Mystery snails are rarity in the snails world. They are not hermaphroditic and need both sexes to reproduce. Also unlike other snails they lay their eggs above the water line. Sexing them is very difficult but you would be looking for a penal hood on the male and a lack of one on the female, get a picture first or its impossible, and even then its pretty hard. I would make sure you have at least 6 to ensure breeding rather than trying to sex them before they breed. They are an apple snail sorry to bash u on that rainman but apple snails are a little different. The ones that are different colors are the same species and will interbreed, they are just differnt color variations that have been bred out in the snail, i have blacks, golds and blues in my snail tank, but they do actually "mate" looks like one snail riding on the other whoohoo lol

[RainMan]

No kidding... you learn something new everyday. LOL Sorry if I steered you wrong minderella. Apple snails are a lot different. ooops!

Did you know they actually have a site dedicated to them? I just learned a ton of info there. Probably more than I wanted to know. ;)
www.applesnail.net (http://www.applesnail.net/)
And to get to the good stuff: Reproduction (http://www.applesnail.net/content/anatomy/reproduction.php)

Pond snails are asexual though.... right? That would explain how they overtake people's fish tanks. I still can't believe it, I always thought all snails were hermaphrodites. A lot more to them I guess.

[Wild Turkey]

I always thought all snails were hermaphrodites. A lot more to them I guess.

alot of them are, the kind most people dont want in their tanks and ponds

[RainMan]

Yeah... it all makes sense now. If apple or mystery snails were so quick to breed... nobody would want them. But, the others are a different story. ;)

[nanaglen2001]

There is a slight chance to differ the sex of Mystery snails, but it only works with the ones which have a not too dark color.

Females tend to be a bit darker in the first spirals, which can be seen when looking really closely. The darker part is the ovary of the female, which you can see with a bit of luck.

Here is a nice link from applesnail.net, which really is a great site for people who want to dig in deeper into this topic.
www.applesnail.net/content/anatomy/reproduction.php